Bottle-capping machine.



H. s. BREWINGTON.

BOTTLE GAPPING MACHINE. 'I

APPLIUATIQN FILED AUG. 1, 1908.

Patented Sept. '7, 1909.

y/l/l/f ations, I

a ai 4 a HENRY S. BREWINGTON, GF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

4IB0T'll'llf'l-CAPPINGl MACHINE.

Application led August 1, 1908.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 7, 190e. Serial No. 446,373.

To allwiom it may concern:

Be 1t known that l, HENRY S. BunwING- ron'. a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimorecity. State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l'ottlellapping hachines, of which the following' is a specification.

My invention relates to an inln'oveinent in capping heads as applicable to bottle capping machines and machines of like character, the object being to automatically secure a sealing `cap 4on the head or inouth of a bottle.

The particular kind of bottle which I einploy as .the most appligable, is that which has :in .exterior locking shoulder or av bead on the head thereof, and the kind of cap which is more I )articularly desired to be used and for which the crowning' head is most applicable i' a metallic czillizlviiig a depending flange, tie flange adapted to be locked under the shoulder or bead on the bottle head, thereby securing the cap on the bottle by the use of the cr-,owning headnow about to be described.

ll'yith .the foregoing object in tiew, my invention consistsl in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts. which will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

n the .iceonipairving drawings. Figure l, is a view in longitudinal section. llig. 2 is a transversesection on line QY-Y--Q'ot' Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is a detail of one of thcLt-.riinping fingers, andifig'. 1t is a similar view of a modified forni of a crimping finger.

A, is an arxn adapted to be secured on a machine of any cl'raracter, adapted to impart to thesaid arni a reciprocating movement.

l, is a reciprocating' head. carrying the I crown-ing 1nechanis1n, the head is bored at l! and is inwardly threaded at 2, into which is screwed the threaded plug' (3. The plug is exteriorly threaded tlnfoughouty itsentire length as indicated at 2l. and. is provided with an inwardlv threaded cap nut -lon the l top part thereof. rlhe plug' l is centrally@ bored throuohout its entire length to allow the plunger lto reciprocate theretln'ough.

E is' a sleeve provided with a reciprocating guide arm F. The said sleeveis inwardly l threaded in the upper end part 5 for the pur- Il pose of being screwed on the exterior threaded yend -6 of the head B. The said sleeve is exteriorly threaded on thelower end porl .of the plunger D is tion 7 .on which 'is screwed the guide G, Aand below the. threaded end portion 7, it is tapered at S, the purpose vof which` will bollore-- inafter explained.

.enlarged at 8 forming a shoulder 9, a slot lO-eXtends through the said enlarged portion, through which is titted a pin ll, which pin extends. 4through the sleeve u; the slot reciprocates with respect to the pin and limits the reciprocation of the.

plunger D; the pin also prevents the nicchanism within the heady B from thereof. The face of the lowerend of the plunger is slightly concave at l2, for the purpose of centering the cap (not shown) Just prior to the sealing operation. Surrounding the plunger D, and supported by the shoulder 9 is a spiral spring 13, the upper end of which abuts against the inner end of the plug C, by which the tension of the spring is regulated. -The function of the cap nut it is the regulation of the recilnocation of the plunger D within the liniit afforded by the slot. l0.

H, represents a segmental closing die conn posed of the lingers 14, which fingers are provided with lugs l5 on the inner sides thereof at a point .inst above their central length. These lingers are secured on the lower end portion of the plunger D, by means of the lugs l5 being secured in the groove 16 exteriorly provided thereon. The u )per ends of these fingers areI beveled at Il to conform to the tapered end 8 of the sleeve E, by which they are adapted to be engaged in the manner to be hereinafter described. In the lower end of the lingers is formed a semi-circular groove 18,' for the purpose of retaining the caps below the plunger prior to being secured on the bottle head and for engaging' with the flange ot' the cap, the edge 19 engaging with the lower edge of the flange of the cap (not shown) and forcing it under the bea d or shoulder on the bottle head, (not shown) the edge,..20 serving the purpose of securely hol(4 lug the cap in place While the lower edge of the flange is being' forced under the bead o1' shoulder on the bottle head and causing the said flauwe to curl around and conform to the said eed or shoulder, thereby insuring a better sealing contact When the pressure of the plunger is Withdrawn. These series of fingers forming the segments of which the The lower end portion falling out shown in Fig. 4f, which ngers are in closing die is composed are exteriorly provided with grooves 22, into which are .secured the s ring rings 23 and 24: by which means the 'ngers are secured together and about the end portion of the plunger D in a manner which permits them to open and close during the operation of securing the cap on the bottle head now about to be described'.

In the modification I have provided a closing die. composed of a series of fingers as every respect similar to those shown in Fig'. 3, save on the lower end portion I have provided a single wedge shaped tooth 25. A forming die composed of ngers of. this character while-very effective relative to a particular form of cap is not as applicable as that shown in the preferred form to the various styles of caps now in universal use by the trade.

My device is operated as follows: A cap (not shown) is placed within the die H an held therein below the plunger D by the grooves 18 in the series of fingers 15. The bottle (not shown) to be capped, is then placed below the cap and plunger and the head B is then reciprocated (by any suitable means, not shown). As the head descends the plunger' D is made to ascend causing the beveled ends 17 of the fingers 14 to be engaged by the tapered end 8 of the sleeve E, thereby spreading the fingers apart or open,- ing the die at its upper end, thereby causing the lower rooved ends 18 of the lingers to close in an about the flange of the cap and press it under the bead on the bottle mouth. As the head ascends and the pressure of the plunger on the bottle is released the plunger is made to descend by reason of the spring 13, thereby releasing the -fingers about vthe cap and permitting it to be removed lfrom Within the die H.

Slight changes and alterations might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts described Without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, hence I do not desire to limit my iri- 1igention to 4exact construction as set forth,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: l

1. In a machine of the character described,

comprising a reciprocating capping head, a

spring actuated plunger secured within the head, a yielding segmental closingvdie composed of a plurality of closing lingers fulcrumed on the lower end portion of the said plunger, a guide surrounding the said closing die, means for ventering the upper inner end portion of the said die, thereby spreading the upper ends of the said fingers out wardly and thereby forcing the lower ends inwardly toward a common center, and

means exteriorly provided on `the said die for causing the said fingers to return to -their normal closed osition after the .entering means is with rawn, substantially as del" scribed.

2. In a machine of the character described, comprising a reciprocating head, a reciprocating plunger secured.within the head, a yielding segmental die composed of a plurality of closing lingers fulcrumed on the lower end portion of the said plunger, means regulating the reciproe'ation of the said plunger, means provided on the fingers for supporting a cap within the said die and below the said plunger, a sleevehaving a substantially conical shaped end portion, means forcing the. said conical end portion into the upper end portion of the said die thereby forcing the upper ends of the said fingers outwardly and causing 'the lower ends lo be forced inwardly toward a common center, substantially as described.

In a machine of the character described,

comprising a reciprocating head, a sleeve having a substantially conical shaped end portion carried by the head, a spring ac tuated plunger secured within the head, a yielding segmental closing die composed of a plurality of individual closing fingers 'fuiciat'med at a point substantially midway their length to the lower end portion of the said plunger,- a guide carried by the said sleeve, surrounding the said die, means for reciprocating the said plunger thereby causing the said conical end of the sleeve to enter the said closing die whereby the upper ends of the said fingers are forced 'outwardly and the lower ends made to close inwardly toward a common center, and means provided on the said die for restoring the said fingers to normal closed position after the \vith.

drawal of the said conical end portion of the said sleeve, substantially as described.

4. vIn a machine of' the character described.l comprisin a reciprocating head, a sleeve, substantie ly conical shaped on one end thereof carried by the said head, a; spring actuated plunger lsecured within the said head, means limiting the reciprocation of the said plunger, a yielding segmental closing die composed of a plurality of individual closing fingers fulcrumed on the lower end means for reciprocating the said plunger thereby causing the said conical end of the said sleeve to enter the said die whereby the the said plunger, a guide carried on the said sleeve and surrounding the said die,-

upper ends of the saidI fingers are forced outwardly and the lower ends inwardly toward a commoncenter, and means provided on the said die for restoring the said fingers to their normal closed position after tlic withdrawal of the said conical end portion oi the said sleeve, substantially as deserilied.

5. In a machine of the character described,

comprising -a reciprocating head vertically bored throughout its entire length, a reciprocating plunger secuied within the bored portion and provided with a groove in the lower end portion thereof', a yielding segmental closing4 die composed of a. series of individual closing fingers fulcrumed in the said groove ata point substantially mid' way the length of the said,l fingers, the said fingers being inwardly provided on their lower end portions with a substantially semi-x` circular groove formed therein and a plu? rality of grooves exteriorly provided the'- said lingers, spring rings secured i lithiuthe last mentioned grooves, a sleeve having a substantially conical shaped end secured on the head, the said conical shaped endof the. sleeve adapted to be forced intothe said die and force the upper ends of vthe said fingers outwardly and thereby force the' lOWerends of the said fingers inwardly toward -aeommo'n center, substantially as described.' I I 6. In a machine of the character described,

fcomprising a capping mechanism, provided" `with an annularly arranged series of inde-` pendent movable suspended closing lingers, having. a plurality of groovei'sl 'exteriorly provided therein, and spring'rings secured in the said grooves securing and yieldiiigl'yjv forming thefsaid fingers into a yielding closing die, a plunger upon which the said-iingers are fulcru'med, a reciprocating, head,

a sleeve carried thereby, having' a substantially conical shaped end portion for entering the said die whereby the upper ends of the said fingers are forced outwardly and the lower ends inwardly toward a common center, substantially as described.I

7. In a machine of the character described, comprising a capping mechanism, provided with a yielding segmental die tor-med'ofl a plurality of independent movable closing fingers loosely secured to a plunger, a plu rality of grooves formed in the outer surface of the said lingers and -having spring rings secured therein, and means for engaging with the upper ends of the said fingers forcing theni outwardly, and thereby forcing the lower ends inwardly toward a coinmon center, substantially as described.

8. .In a machine of the character described, comprising a closing die formed of ay series of individual closing'fingers,said fingers heilig provided with higson their inner face portion at a point substantially midway their length, the said fingers being inwardly provided on their inner end portions with a semi-circular groove formed therein, and exterioi'ly provided with a plurality of grooves into which-are secured spring rings, a plunger having means provided thereonl by which means the lugs fulcrum the said .fingers thereon, and means for entering the said die-whereby the upper ends of the said tra mi) 9. In a machine of the characterdescribed,

comprising a head, a threaded hollow plug partially screwed within the upper end thereof, a cap nut secured on the projecting portion of the said plug, a spring actuated plungersecured within t-lie head carryin-g a yielding segmental closing die coin'- posed of a plurality of individual closing fingers on the lower end portion thereof, a sleeve having va substantially conical shaped end portion secured on the lower end vof the said 'head,'a guide secured on the lower end of the sleeve,pmeans for reciprocating the said .head thereby causing the said conical shapedend'of the sleeve to enter thesaid die, thereby forcing the upper ends of the fsaid fingrsoutwardly and the lower ends inwardly toward a common center, substantially as described.

10. In a machine of the character described, comprisinga head, a yielding reciprocating plunger secured within the head, a yielding .segmental die composed of a plurality ot individual closing fingers having a plurality ofgrooves exterior-ly provided in the surfaee'thereof, and '-ineansprovided on -the lower inner-"end portions of :the said A'fingers for supporting a cap below fand in line with the said plunger,- rneans by which the said fingers are fuicruined on the lower end Aof the said plunger, and means for engaging the upper ends of the said lingers whereby the upper ends of the said lingers are forced outwardly and away from the plunger and the lower ends inwardly toward a common center, substantially as described. f 11; Ina machine of the character described, comprising a head, a sleeve carriedthereby, a guide carried. by the sleeve, a spring acf tuated plunger secured within the said head,

la. yielding segmental closing die composed of a plurality of individual closing fingers carried by the said plunger, means provided on the lower inner ends of thesaid fingers for supportiiig),` a cap below and in line with, the said plunger, means fulcrun'iing the said fingers on the lower end of the. said plunger, nieansfor engaging the upper inner ends of the said fingers, whereby the upper'ends are forced outwardly, and the lower ends iiiwardly toward a -common center, and means provided on the saiddie for retaining the lower ends of the said fingers in normal closed position prior to the said eingagenient of the said upper ends thereof, substantially as described. l

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses HENRY S. BREWINGTON. Witnesses Mani' M. ll/Iaonaw, KATHERINE M. Mannion. 

